How to Transfer a Cassette Tape to a CD With a PC

Written by si kingston

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Transfer a cassette tape to a CD. (tape image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com)

Transferring audio from a cassette tape to a CD is a multi-stage process. You must first connect the cassette deck to the computer, then use a software program to record the incoming audio and, lastly, burn the saved audio to a CD. There are several software programs that will record audio from an incoming cassette tape and Windows Media Player will burn any saved tracks on the computer to a CD.

Skill level:

Easy

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Things you need

RCA with mini-jack connector cable

Computer with sound card

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Instructions

1

Insert the male end (or the end with both a red and white jack) of the stereo RCA with mini-jack connector cable into the cassette deck's "Line Out" or "Audio Out" port.

2

Insert the female, or single end, of the cable into the "Line In" or "Audio In" port on the computer.

3

Insert the cassette tape into the cassette tape deck.

1

Launch Sound Recorder. Sound Recorder is a Windows native software program. To access it, click on the "Accessories" folder in the Programs menu. To begin recording, press the "Record" button in Sound Recorder and the "Play" button on the cassette player. To stop, press the "Stop" button on the software and player. Click "Save as" and enter a file name. Sound Recorder will save files as WAV or WMA format.

2

Open Audacity. Audacity is a freeware audio program. To use Audacity, click on the "Start" button to begin recording and hit the "Play" button on the cassette deck. Click on the "Stop" button to end recording. To save the file, click on "Export" from the File menu. Enter a file name and select the file type. Audacity allows you to chose from many file formats including MP3, WMA, WAV, AIFF or OGG.

3

Record the cassette tape with Sound Forge. Sound Forge is an audio recording and editing program. To record the cassette player, select "New File" from the "File" menu. Then click on the "Record" button in Sound Forge and the "Play" button on the player. Press the "Stop" button to end the recording. Click "Save as" from the "File" menu and enter a file name and select a file format (e.g., MP3, WAV or WMA).

1

Launch Windows Media Player and insert a CD into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

2

Click on the "Burn" tab and click on the "Burn" menu. To access the Burn menu, click on the downward-facing arrow on the Burn tab. Select "Audio CD" as the type of CD you want to make.

3

Locate the "Burn List" on the right-hand side of the Burn tab. All tracks in this list will be burnt to the CD. To add tracks to the Burn List, use the mouse to drag tracks that were recorded from the cassette tape and saved on the computer and drop them into the Burn List.

4

Click on the "Start Burn" button and Windows Media Player will burn the tracks recorded from the cassette tape to a CD.